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I keep harping on this: the sharp-suited ticket-clipping fraternity are trying to convince the masses that the recent set of ludicrous fiscal and monetary missteps by the US and other governments are going to work... in other words, that government is going to save the day.
One thing that ought to be borne in mind: government has never ever ever ever ever 'saved the day.'
Not ever.
Not once.
Never, no-how.
Point to FDR and his much-touted 'New Deal' - I dare you. If you do so, you are revealing yourself to be an ignoramus.
The "FDR saved America' story is like half of US political history... it's fiction - along with "Lusitania was not carrying weapons", "The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour was a complete surprise", "The USS Maddox was attacked by torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin", "Lee Harvey Oswa;d was the guy", "Sirhan Sirhan - wow... another lone nut" and "The World Trade Centre was carried out by 19 Saudis with box-cutters".
For all the money that was poured down the throats of the US government in FDR's first two terms, for all the seizure of gold, for all the interventionism and 'labour market programs'... they achieved nothing palpable. The US economy was still moribund when they entered WWII.
Sure, economic activity rose during the war, but as a direct result of forced real wage cuts and the move towards a command economy. That sort of thing can get you a quick burst of growth if you're already suffering from a slack labour market - but unless workers are prepared to accept peacetime rationing, it won't work for long enough.
So if you want to go further down the road of Socialism (with a capital S this time - as in the genuine Leninist method), then you follow Hankie and Bernanke's prescriptions and wind up mired in a low-productivity police state where urban decay and declining living standards are no longer the stuff you experience during recessions - but are part of the permanent economic landscape (despite government assertions to the contrary).
After all, Soviet citizens were always being told that the system was furnishing ever-greater output... yet the quotidian experience was queueing for a loaf of bread.
But where was I? Oh yeah... this idea that all the 'stimulus' (which is really 'theft from future activity') will save us all.
Put me down in the 'No' camp, dearest Reader... we will see who is right at the end of 2009. We will see asset prices at 1992 levels.Major Market Indices
The broad market - the All Ordinaries (XAO) - rose strongly, registering a gain of 39.2 points (1.12%), finishing at 3554.2 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3580.4 at 10:04 am, while the low for the day was 3511.1 - set at 1:48 pm Sydney time. Thereafter, everybody decided that 3500 on the All ords was sacrosanct and so the market got bought into the close.
Total volume traded on the ASX was 697.9m units, 30.7% below its 10-day average of 1.01bn shares.The ASX's daily listing of all stocks included 871 different 3-letter FPO's which traded (i.e., had non-zero trade volume). Of these, 431 issues rose, with volume in rising issues totalling 348m units; there were 258 declining stocks, which traded aggregate declining volume of 247.8m shares.
Of the 488 All Ordinaries components, 248 rose while 136 fell. Volume was tilted in favour of the gainers by a margin of 1.1:1, with 251.73m shares traded in gainers while 220.06m shares traded in the day's losers.
The Index that forms the cash basis for the SPI Futures - the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) - managed a solid gain, adding 38.9 points (1.09%), closing out the session at 3621.1 points.
| Name | Close | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|
| All Ordinaries | 3554.20 | 39.20 (1.1%) |
| ASX 20 | 2169.00 | 20.60 (1.0%) |
| ASX 50 | 3660.60 | 40.80 (1.1%) |
| ASX 100 | 2989.50 | 31.60 (1.1%) |
| ASX 200 | 3621.10 | 38.90 (1.1%) |
| ASX 300 | 3603.40 | 39.20 (1.1%) |
| ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3320.50 | 20.30 (0.6%) |
| ASX Small Ordinaries | 1647.10 | 24.60 (1.5%) |
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders (XTL) - advanced by under a percent, adding 20.6 points (0.96%), closing out the session at 2169 points.
Among the 20 big guns, the outcome favoured the upside, but only just - the 11 advancing stocks just triumphed over the losers. The stocks which make up the index traded a total of 58.92m units; 11 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 33.1m shares, while the 8 decliners had volume traded totalling 22.91m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$1.87 (5.68%) to $34.77 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Suncorp-Metway. (SUN), +$0.37 (4.71%) to $8.22 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
- Stockland (SGP), +$0.18 (4.68%) to $4.03 on volume of 2.6 million shares;
- Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (CBA), +$1.03 (3.79%) to $28.18 on volume of 5.8 million shares; and
- National Australia Bank (NAB), +$0.76 (3.78%) to $20.87 on volume of 3.2 million shares.
On the less salubrious side of the big-cap fence, the following stocks were the worst-performed within the index:
- Foster's Group (FGL), -$0.13 (2.36%) to $5.37 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
- QBE Insurance Group (QBE), -$0.53 (2.07%) to $25.06 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
- Macquarie Group (MQG), -$0.49 (1.72%) to $28.01 on volume of 595.6 thousand shares;
- Westfield Group (WDC), -$0.2 (1.49%) to $13.20 on volume of 3.6 million shares; and
- CSL (CSL), -$0.26 (0.78%) to $33.13 on volume of 1.4 million shares.
The ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) performed solidly, in moving up 24.6 points (1.52%), closing out the session at 1647.1 points.
Among the stocks that make up the Small Caps index, 115 index components finished to the upside, and of the rest, 60 closed lower for the session.
The 210 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 194.28m units: volume in the 115 gainers totalling 102.53m shares, with trade totalling 59.69m units in the index's 60 declining components. The major percentage gainers within the index were- Lynas Corporation (LYC), +$0.06 (31.43%) to $0.23 on volume of 8.7 million shares;
- Eastern Star Gas (ESG), +$0.13 (22.12%) to $0.69 on volume of 4.1 million shares;
- Tishman Speyer Office Fund (TSO), +$0.03 (20.69%) to $0.18 on volume of 4.9 million shares;
- Babcock & Brown Communities Group (BBC), +$0.03 (19.23%) to $0.16 on volume of 159.1 thousand shares; and
- Valad Property Group (VPG), +$0.01 (18.42%) to $0.05 on volume of 7.6 million shares.
In the red-zone of the little-stock index, the following list represents the biggest downers (in terms of percentage decline):
- Albidon (ALB), -$0.02 (16%) to $0.11 on volume of 650 thousand shares;
- Mintails (MLI), -$0 (14.29%) to $0.02 on volume of 8.9 million shares;
- Rivercity Motorway Group (RCY), -$0.02 (8.33%) to $0.17 on volume of 540.8 thousand shares;
- Timbercorp (TIM), -$0.01 (8%) to $0.12 on volume of 2.1 million shares; and
- Specialty Fashion Group (SFH), -$0.02 (7.55%) to $0.25 on volume of 59.9 thousand shares.
Index Changes
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3554.2 | 39.2 | 1.12 | 511.5m |
| XFL | ASX 50 | 3660.6 | 40.8 | 1.13 | 151.4m |
| XJO | ASX 200 | 3621.1 | 38.9 | 1.09 | 447.4m |
| XKO | ASX 300 | 3603.4 | 39.2 | 1.1 | 491.8m |
| XMD | ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3320.5 | 20.3 | 0.62 | 154.6m |
| XSO | ASX Small Ordinaries | 1647.1 | 24.6 | 1.52 | 185.7m |
| XTL | ASX 20 | 2169 | 20.6 | 0.96 | 56.3m |
| XTO | ASX 100 | 2989.5 | 31.6 | 1.07 | 306m |
Market Breadth
| ASX20 | XTO | XJO | XAO | XSO | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advances | 11 | 66 | 128 | 248 | 115 | 431 |
| Declines | 8 | 32 | 65 | 136 | 60 | 258 |
| Advancing Volume | 33.1m | 155.5m | 227.7m | 251.7m | 102.5m | 348m |
| Declining Volume | 22.9m | 166.7m | 198.4m | 220.1m | 59.7m | 247.8m |
GICS Industry Indices
Among the 11 industry indices, 7 registered an advance for the session, the remaining 4 lost ground.
The best performing index was Energy (XEJ), which added 304.1 points (2.58%) to 12072.4 points. The 20 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 19.09m units; 14 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 10.41m shares, while the 5 decliners had volume traded totalling 5.59m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Arrow Energy (AOE), +$0.27 (12.68%) to $2.40 on volume of 2.5 million shares;
- Gloucester Coal (GCL), +$0.27 (9.54%) to $3.10 on volume of 211.9 thousand shares;
- Beach Petroleum (BPT), +$0.06 (6.36%) to $0.92 on volume of 1.4 million shares;
- Worleyparsons (WOR), +$0.77 (6.14%) to $13.32 on volume of 544.5 thousand shares; and
- Woodside Petroleum (WPL), +$1.87 (5.68%) to $34.77 on volume of 1.1 million shares.
Second in the index leadership stakes was Financials ex Property Trusts (XXJ), which gained 69.3 points (1.82%) to 3882.2 points. The 27 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 52.36m units; 14 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 42.99m shares, while the 11 decliners had volume traded totalling 5.48m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- HFA Holdings (HFA), +$0.01 (10.2%) to $0.05 on volume of 19.5 million shares;
- Australian Wealth Mgt (AUW), +$0.05 (4.89%) to $0.97 on volume of 758.2 thousand shares;
- Suncorp-Metway. (SUN), +$0.37 (4.71%) to $8.22 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
- Challenger Financial Services Group (CGF), +$0.08 (4.52%) to $1.74 on volume of 251.1 thousand shares; and
- AXA Asia Pacific Holdings (AXA), +$0.19 (4.22%) to $4.69 on volume of 694.2 thousand shares.
The bronze medal for today goes to Industrials (XNJ), which climbed 50.9 points (1.61%) to 3214.1 points. The 32 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 36.52m units; 24 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 31.22m shares, while the 6 decliners had volume traded totalling 2.85m units. The major percentage gainers within the index were
- Alesco Corporation (ALS), +$0.22 (9.24%) to $2.60 on volume of 131.1 thousand shares;
- NRW Holdings (NWH), +$0.02 (8.57%) to $0.19 on volume of 1.5 million shares;
- Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG), +$0.09 (5.67%) to $1.59 on volume of 4.2 million shares;
- CSR (CSR), +$0.10 (5.48%) to $1.83 on volume of 3.9 million shares; and
- Transpacific Industries (TPI), +$0.14 (4.68%) to $3.13 on volume of 256.5 thousand shares.
The worst-performed index for the session was Information Technology (XIJ), which dipped 7.9 points (1.83%) to 424.9 points. The 2 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 0.85m units; The sole declining stock traded 0.74m units, and volume in the lone rising index component was 0.12m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Computershare (CPU), -$0.19 (2.47%) to $7.50 on volume of 737.4 thousand shares.
Just missing out on the wooden spoon was Property Trusts (XPJ), which slid 6 points (0.65%) to 911 points. The 21 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 187.17m units; The 9 decliners had volume traded totalling 120.5m units, and 10 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 52.25m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Macquarie Office Trust (MOF), -$0.04 (12.12%) to $0.29 on volume of 48.6 million shares;
- ING Industrial Fund (IIF), -$0.01 (6.45%) to $0.15 on volume of 9.8 million shares;
- Macquarie Countrywide Trust (MCW), -$0.01 (4.65%) to $0.21 on volume of 13.6 million shares;
- Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust (BWP), -$0.05 (2.83%) to $1.72 on volume of 215.7 thousand shares; and
- Abacus Property Group (ABP), -$0.01 (2.78%) to $0.18 on volume of 2.9 million shares.
Third-to-last amongst the sector indices was Healthcare (XHJ), which slid 42.4 points (0.51%) to 8325 points. The 9 stocks which make up the index traded a total of 4.82m units; The 7 decliners had volume traded totalling 3.83m units, and 2 index components rose, with rising volume amounting to 0.99m shares, The major percentage decliners within the index were
- Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd (SIP), -$0.03 (2.83%) to $1.03 on volume of 1.1 million shares;
- Healthscope (HSP), -$0.06 (1.43%) to $4.14 on volume of 212.9 thousand shares;
- Ansell (ANN), -$0.14 (1.16%) to $11.90 on volume of 476.9 thousand shares;
- Cochlear (COH), -$0.54 (0.99%) to $53.80 on volume of 85 thousand shares; and
- Primary Health Care (PRY), -$0.04 (0.85%) to $4.66 on volume of 275.3 thousand shares.
Sector Indices
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XEJ | Energy | 12072.4 | 304.1 | 2.58 | 19m |
| XXJ | Financials ex Property Trusts | 3882.2 | 69.3 | 1.82 | 52m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 3214.1 | 50.9 | 1.61 | 37m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 1160.6 | 13.3 | 1.16 | 16m |
| XMJ | Materials | 8305.4 | 94.1 | 1.15 | 91m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4275.8 | 40 | 0.94 | 23m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 6057.1 | 8.7 | 0.14 | 14m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1255.8 | -5.9 | -0.47 | 13m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 8325 | -42.4 | -0.51 | 5m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 911 | -6 | -0.65 | 187m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 424.9 | -7.9 | -1.83 | 1m |
All Ordinaries Major Movers
All Ords Volume Leaders
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOF | Macquarie Office Trust | 0.29 | -0.04 | -12.12 | 48.6m |
| GPT | GPT Group | 0.89 | -0.03 | -2.75 | 23m |
| HFA | HFA Holdings | 0.05 | 0.01 | 10.2 | 19.5m |
| GMG | Goodman Group | 0.72 | 0.02 | 2.86 | 17.8m |
| DXS | Dexus Property Group | 0.79 | -0.02 | -1.87 | 14.7m |
All Ords Percentage Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFK | Norfolk Group | 0.25 | 0.06 | 31.58 | 719.5k |
| LYC | Lynas Corporation | 0.23 | 0.06 | 31.43 | 8.7m |
| PRU | Perseus Mining | 0.58 | 0.13 | 28.89 | 753.1k |
| ALD | Allied Gold | 0.43 | 0.09 | 25 | 192.9k |
| ESG | Eastern Star Gas | 0.69 | 0.13 | 22.12 | 4.1m |
All Ords Percentage Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALB | Albidon | 0.11 | -0.02 | -16 | 650k |
| MLI | Mintails | 0.02 | 0.00 | -14.29 | 8.9m |
| TGP | Trafalgar Corporate Group | 0.43 | -0.07 | -13.13 | 20.5k |
| DKN | Deakin Financial SVS Grp Ltd. | 0.48 | -0.07 | -12.73 | 10.7k |
| MOF | Macquarie Office Trust | 0.29 | -0.04 | -12.12 | 48.6m |
